During her unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate, Republican state Sen. Leah Vukmir claimed that 3.4 million people would lose employer-sponsored health care coverage if Congress passed Medicare for All, a bill co-sponsored by her opponent, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin. We check that claim.

Flint, Michigan, the city known for its contaminated water crisis, has something in common with Wisconsin — childhood lead poisoning. According to Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore of Milwaukee, the proportion of children with elevated blood lead levels among Wisconsin’s children has risen close to those of Flint. The Observatory verified this claim.

Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson supports President Donald Trump’s move to add troops to the southern border with Mexico to intercept unauthorized immigrants and drugs. Johnson cited a shortage of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. The Observatory finds his claim that the Border Patrol does suffer from attrition Verified, but finds his claim about the need for more agents Unobservable.

Democratic candidate for governor Sen. Kathleen Vinehout claimed in a March 2018 campaign video that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s signature Act 10, which strips most collective bargaining rights from public employees, has led to a teacher shortage. We check her claim.

U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin says President Donald Trump’s decision to send military troops the border with Mexico is aimed at keeping out immigrants, not fighting drug smugglers. The Observatory finds this claim Mostly True.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Madison Mayor Paul Soglin claimed, “The latest statistics demonstrated that if there is a firearm available, it is 17 times more likely to be used either for suicide or for assaulting a friend, relative an acquaintance than it is to be used in fending off an intruder.” The Observatory rates his claim as Mostly True.

Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner said in a town hall meeting in Watertown on Feb. 25 that, “There has been a law on the books for over 20 years that makes it illegal to carry a firearm within 1,000 feet of any school in the country.” The Observatory found this claim Mostly True.

Gov. Scott Walker announces a deal in July 2017 with Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn to build an LCD manufacturing plant in Wisconsin. At far left is Terry Gou, chairman of Foxconn. Matt Flynn, one of Walker’s Democratic challengers for governor, says some of the state’s multi-billion taxpayer investment will flow to out-of-state companies. We check his claim.

“Our governor cut $1.6B from education … now is putting back $638 million. That’s not progress, it’s an insult,” Mahlon Mitchell, Democratic candidate for governor and president of the state firefighters union, said in a tweet. In examining Mitchell’s claims, the Observatory found it is true that the current budget contains about $638 million more in K-12 spending compared to the previous year. But it is not 100 percent accurate to claim that Walker cut education spending by $1.6 billion in his first two-year budget.

Republican state senator and U.S. Senate candidate Leah Vukmir posted on Facebook on March 6 that the residency rule in Milwaukee “prevented highly qualified teachers, police officers and firefighters from opting to work in the city” and that “removing these barriers helps Milwaukee retain and attract many valuable workers who were once discouraged by the residency rule.” The Observatory found this claim Unobservable.

President Donald Trump declared via Twitter that he is keeping perhaps his most famous campaign promise, claiming that “MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL!” through a recent trade agreement negotiated with Mexico. But economic and trade experts we interviewed said that’s not possible.

Follow The Observatory

About Us

The Observatory harnesses the efforts of University of Wisconsin-Madison student journalists, the expertise of UW scholars, and the Wisconsin-centered platforms of our partners to connect and engage voters in Wisconsin and beyond to provide information vital to the practice of democracy.